Signed by Governor Bill Lee

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that increases the punishments for certain heinous crimes.

Highlights:

• Establishes the crime of especially aggravated rape and classifies it as Class A felony punisheable with life in prison without parole (Secs. 1 & 2).

• Establishes the crime of grave torture, defined as torture carried out with the intent of first degree murder, and classifies it as a Class A felony punishable with life in prison without parole or death (Sec. 3).

• Requires a jury that convicts a defendant of grave torture or first degree murder to determine a sentence in a meeting seperate from the original trial (Sec. 4).

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that increases the punishments for certain heinous crimes.

Highlights:

• Establishes the crime of especially aggravated rape and classifies it as Class A felony punisheable with life in prison without parole (Secs. 1 & 2).

• Establishes the crime of grave torture, defined as torture carried out with the intent of first degree murder, and classifies it as a Class A felony punishable with life in prison without parole or death (Sec. 3).

• Requires a jury that convicts a defendant of grave torture or first degree murder to determine a sentence in a meeting seperate from the original trial (Sec. 4).

Full Bill Text